Virgin Atlantic is to restart daily flights from London Heathrow to Shanghai for the first time since December 2020 .
Cargo and passenger carriage will resume on May 1, meaning all of the carrier's pre-pandemic route network will be active again ahead of a doubling of capacity to Tel Aviv and the opening of new routes to the Maldives and Turks and Caicos later in 2023.
"The move comes following a relaxation in travel restrictions between the two countries, which sees the borders reopening to foreign nationals for the first time since 2020. Shanghai is Virgin Atlantic’s final route to be re-instated following the global pandemic, having been closed for a total of 859 days at the point of its relaunch," the carrier announced.
The flights will feature the range of classes offered before the hiatus: Upper, premium and the airline’s three economy offerings. Passengers will have the option of connecting flights from Shanghai with Virgin's Skyteam partner, China Eastern.
“The return of our Shanghai services has been a long-time coming and I’m delighted it’s finally a reality. We’re looking forward to welcoming our customers back on board and providing vital links to one of the UK’s largest trading partners, for both passenger and cargo services," said Juha Jarvinen, chief commercial officer.